1970 Camaro

This car was my ticket to freedom, and therefore I was consumed with that hunk of metal! It was then perhaps my definition of manhood and it was literally my path to my future. The world was now within reach. This new freedom allowed me to get a full time job which was a needed ingredient for any direction desired. I kept that car clean and maintained, waxed and polished. If mechanical issues arose, Dad would tell me over the phone how to fix it. Of course this was before days of the internet and wireless phones!

Some three years later, I sold the Camaro and purchased a little truck. We had moved back here to the valley and my identity as a young man was somewhat morphing, but maybe not that smoothly. I was farming now and keeping my Mother stocked with firewood. And I was getting weary of the continued repairs necessary to keep that Camaro on the road. My first car had become less of an idol in my life! A vehicle became a means of survival and no longer as much a treasure. 

Well, as it turns out, my car was not a ticket to freedom but rather more chains that bind me to the Earth. Yes, I certainly needed a job and reliable transportation, but the higher I climbed the ladder of success, the more imprisoned I became. The world wishes to engulf all of us, every breathing minute! 

What are my treasures now at this time in my life? Or maybe another way of identifying my idol treasures is to look at where I am spending most of my time and what am I spending my hard earned money on? The problem is simply stated by Saint Mathew: “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt. 6:21) I thank God the church has set aside this Lenten period for my salvation and for a reevaluation of my goals and treasures.  

The Holy Hierarch John, Archbishop of Shanghai & San Francisco, the Wonderworker, glorified by the Russian Church Abroad in 1941, writes the following about this salvific time: “Great Lent is preparation for the future life, while in the shorter term it is preparation for the Bright Resurrection. Just as in a tall building the staircase is constructed in a way that makes it easier to ascend to the building’s heights, so are various days of the year steps for our spiritual upliftment and ascent. The days of Great Lent and Holy Pascha are just such days.”

Our Metropolitan Nicholas writes: “When we ascend a high mountain, we try to shed any excess weight. As we approach the fast, let us also shed judgment and slander, hatred and discord, and all manner of excess. Let us forgive those who have offended us, remembering Christ’s commandment, that He will forgive us only when we have forgiven those who hate us. Let us limit or set aside altogether, at least for this period of time, the internet and especially social media, immersing ourselves in spiritually beneficial literature, which pacifies and illumines the soul. In order that our greeting “Rejoice!” might be pleasing to the Mother of God on the feast of the Annunciation, which this year coincides with the Sunday of the Cross , let us shut the doors of our minds and hearts to the passions of this world, taking care to attend the divine services appointed for this grace-filled time of year. Let us increase our prayer, especially our prayer for the peace of the whole world, and let us likewise increase our good works.” (2024 Great Lenten Epistle from His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas.)

After trapeza today we will celebrate the great kick-off of lent with the prayers of forgiveness. I pray that you have set aside some time to be here and seize this opportunity! What in the world will keep you away?

Fr. Gabriel Weller 3-17-2024